When Ainsley Maitland-Niles burst onto the scene during Arsène Wenger’s final season at Arsenal, cementing a place in the first team squad and starting on a regular basis, hopes were high for the youngster. He was shown to be incredibly versatile and looking at things retrospectively, he was an adequate replacement for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. However, a few years have passed since then and it seems the Englishman still hasn’t staked claim of a specific role at Arsenal. In addition, his future at the club has been called into question by many. So, where exactly did things go wrong for Ainsley Maitland-Niles?
A good place to start with regard to Maitland-Niles’ stuttering progress would be his initial introduction to the first team. The Hale End academy graduate came into the team due to an injury crisis at left-wing-back. Both Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal were struggling with injury so Wenger called upon a 19-year-old Ainsley-Maitland-Niles to fill in. The youngster’s form was rewarded through a starting birth in the 3-3 draw against Liverpool whilst Kolasinac was left on the bench. Frustratingly for Maitland-Niles, since initally helping out as a wing-back/full-back due to a lack of options in these positions, Arsenal fans and coaches have assumed that he is at his best when he plays as a wide defender ever since. He’s never been able to shake off that tag
It’s generally accepted that the 22-year-old doesn’t agree with this notion. If you asked him why, he’d point you in the direction of his performance at Old Trafford during the dying embers of the 2017/18 campaign. Partnering Granit Xhaka in a double pivot in a very young Arsenal team, Maitland-Niles delivered an exceptionally mature performance. Arsenal may have lost the game that day, but Maitland-Niles won his midfield battle against Paul Pogba.
Despite his influential performance at Old Trafford, Unai Emery arrived at the club in the Summer of 2018 and clearly believed the then 20-year-old could be best utilised as a full-back or wing-back. Emery never used Maitland-Niles in central midfield. Not once. During the Spaniard’s time at the helm, Maitland-Niles was deployed at left-back, right-back, right-wing-back and on the right-wing. Never in central midfield. This was understandable due to the experienced options we had in the middle during Emery’s reign but still embittering for the Englishman. Yes, he’s delivered some strong performances at full-back and wing-back, specifically at the end of the 2018/19 season and during Mikel Arteta’s first few games in charge. However, this does not change the fact that the 22-year-old doesn’t like playing in those positions and probably never will.
And this leads perfectly onto Maitland-Niles’ big problem. He’s got to learn to like playing in whatever position Mikel Arteta wants him to play in and his overall attitude needs to improve. He may be correct in his belief that he’s best in central midfield, but if his manager doesn’t agree, he has to deal with that and wait for the chance in his preferred role. His reluctance to do so led to getting dropped from the Premier League squad all together and Sokratis starting ahead of him at right-back. When Arteta was asked about the issue, he responded by saying that “Ainsley needs to put his head down, work hard and show me everyday that he wants it more than anybody else.”
In combination with the bad training attitude Arteta insinuates in the quote above and his reluctance to play in defence, to add fuel to the fire, David Ornstein reported in March that Maitland-Niles’ discipline is rather poor. Ornstein beleives that “[Maitland-Niles] has been late to a couple of training sessions.” Prior to this, Ornstein stated that Arteta believes players should “players should play where they’re told to play, and for the good of the team.” All the signs here suggest that Arteta is incredibly unimpressed with the Englishman.
If our number 15’s Arsenal career is still salvageable, it’s clear what he needs to do. He needs to show his manager a willingness to play in any position, he needs to improve his punctuality tenfold and he has to show commitment to Arteta’s project. Unfortunately, due to his antics, the only way he’ll be able to do that is by training and playing harder than everyone else. He’s got a huge task on his hands.
When Arsène Wenger left the club, he stated that ““When [Maitland-Niles] digs a little bit more than he naturally would like to, you will see a fantastic football player.” Unfortunately, it seems Maitland-Niles hasn’t dug that little bit deeper.
Maitland-Niles is on his last legs at Arsenal and it could already be game over for him. Nevertheless, the financial implications of football’s Covid-19 break are likely to have thrown Maitland-Niles a life line. Arsenal may now need to keep the Englishman next season as a replacement may not be affordable. If it that is the case, will he take his chance and get his Arsenal career back on track? The evidence in this article suggests no. Still, stranger things have happened and there is undoubtedly a quality footballer in Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The big question now is whether that footballer will unveiled at Arsenal, or elsewhere? Or perhaps, whether that player will ever be unveiled at all? Only time will tell.
